LOS ANGELES – In an opening scene of iconic LA neo-noir crime thriller “Training Day,” Detective Alonzo Harris hits the hydraulic switches on his black Monte Carlo, throws on the unmistakable G-Funk anthem “Still D.R.E.,” and hangs a left onto Broadway from 7th Street in downtown LA’s jewelry district.
“I got 38 cases pending trial, 63 in active investigations, another 250 on the log I can't clear,” Lonzo, played by Denzel Washington, tells newbie officer Jake Hoyt. “I supervise five officers. That's five different personalities. Five sets of problems. You can be number six if you act now.”
At the opening of Los Angeles Football Club’s inaugural preseason training camp on Monday, head coach Bob Bradley took a page from Lonzo’s playbook.
“You can do the math,” Bradley told reporters Monday when asked which players were at the club’s first-ever practice. “There are ten players a side, then we have three goalkeepers working with Zak [Abdel].
“That’s 23 players — signed players, trialists, draftees, all of the above.”
The media was admitted to the pitch just as Designated PlayersCarlos Vela and Diego Rossi wound down the morning training session at UCLA, the club’s temporary home until their Cal State LA practice facility is completed in April.
Benny Feilhaber addresses the media. | Courtesy of LAFC
“I remember what it’s like your first day of preseason, but for everybody, [LAFC] is new,” general manager John Thorrington said. “It’s not like we have a few guys coming into an established group, so it adds to its excitement.”
Though the players showed flashes of this excitement to the media contingent awaiting them near the exit, the first training in club history wasn’t a breeze.
“The energy was great for the first day,” said the coach. “Of course, when the energy is high, sometimes the football isn’t as perfect as you want.”
Bradley stayed behind, moving among the scattered, stretching bodies, making comments and adjustments right up until the last player was off the field.
Absent were the celebrity names and owners that have become synonymous with the club in the three years since its announcement. Instead, onlookers featured club staffers and Bradley’s newly-hired technical team. Academy director Todd Saldaña was also in attendance, and like club president Tom Penn, echoed Thorrington’s sense of excitement.
“The first day is really here,” Saldaña said, almost in disbelief.
Penn, who was catching some shade under a canopy as the morning dissolved into afternoon, imagined the experience from the perspective of the club’s SuperDraft acquisitions.
Working out on Day 1. | Courtesy of LAFC
“The draftees went from the Combine last week to passing to Carlos Vela this week.”
Indeed, after years of waiting, it’s all happening quite fast now for the heavily-anticipated expansion team. The collective mood was cagey, a blend of excitement and caution. Only Bradley seemed to exude genuine calm.
The last subject to be interviewed, he fielded questions prying for answers that are impossible to give after only the first couple of hours with a brand-new team that’s still under construction. He refused to answer a question about who might emerge as the club’s captain but rattled off names like Vela, Laurent Ciman and Benny Feilhaber for leadership roles. He gave reporters only small glimpses into how the team might look when they take the field for their opening-day match on March 3.
Bradley explained his mindset for how to shape his players, and ultimately, his squad.
“Say to them, ‘Show up every day, show me your personality, show up every day with an open mind so when I try to help you with football ideas, you can take them in.’”
Ultimately, Bradley was as cool, calm, and collected in his black training kit as Lonzo in his Monte Carlo whip in “Training Day.” Having led the Chicago Fire to a domestic double in their 1998 expansion season two decades ago, he has every right to be.
“If I scream and yell, don’t take it wrong,” the coach said, recalling that famous character’s low-rider speech once more. “If I put my arm around you, it’s because I love you and want to help you. If we all understand each other and we’re on the same page, then we make every day exciting, fun, different.”
